Bridgeport Safe Start Initiative

Update Meeting

September 23, 2004Bridgeport Holiday Inn

• Bridgeport Board of Education, School Readiness

• Bridgeport Hospital, Child FIRST

• Child Guidance Center of Greater Bridgeport

• The Center for Women and Families

• The Department of Children and Families, Bridgeport Area Office

• The Yale School of Medicine, The Consultation Center

Bridgeport Safe Start InitiativeUpdate Meeting

Contributions to the following information are based on the efforts of the many service providers committed to supporting the needs of families with young children impacted by family violence including:

Funding by the Bridgeport Safe Start Initiative Made possible through a grant from the

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention

As the Safe Start Initiative moves into its fifth and final year, this update meeting is being held to present several objectives we hope will strengthen the commitment of te community to improve the lives of families impact by violence in the home.

Meeting objectives include:

Bridgeport Safe Start InitiativeUpdate Meeting

Purpose

1. Sharing lessons learned and accomplishments

2. Introducing some next steps for 2005

3. Asking for feedback to help shape our efforts and priorities in the final year of the Initiative

Who are the children exposed to violence (CEV)?

Safe Start has positively identified 441 CEV

The average age is 3.07

Identified CEV are approximately 50% boys and 50% girls

75% of the children are identified as from an ethnic minority group other than “White Caucasian”

91% of the children are Medicaid eligible

Background

What does the violence exposure look like?

75% of the children witnessed the violence but were not the intended victims

18% of the children were physically injured

The violence included punching, hitting and verbal threats

10% of the children were exposed to violence that involved a weapon (i.e. gun, knife)

50% of the children had witnessed a family member being arrested

Background

Identifying CEV

• Children are exposed to an average of 5.3 traumatic events before coming to the attention of a support service

Service providers recognize the needs of families when families are in the most desperate circumstances (43% identified from court, 9% DCF, 8% community health centers, and 6% law enforcement)

Only 5% of requests for services are self reported

Lessons Learned

• Parents of CEV are reporting very high levels of stress

51% of parents are reporting extreme levels of stress using the Parenting Stress Index (PSI)

More PTSD symptoms were reported for children whose parents report these high levels of stress

As the number of traumatic events experienced by children increased, the stress levels of the parent or caregiver increases

Lessons Learned

Identifying CEV

• An overwhelming number of families with CEV have very little economic resources

91% of CEV children identified were eligible for Medicaid

Transportation was identified as a consistent barrier to reaching services

The intensive case management needed to support CEV is not reimbursable

Identifying CEV

Lessons Learned

• Preschool children identified with high socio-emotional and behavioral challenges are at high risk of also being CEV

73% of children identified with very high socio emotional and behavioral challenges were also identified as CEV

Preschool teachers can successfully reduce the number of children exhibiting socio-emotional and behavioral challenges by as much as 60% with proper classroom and student strategies

Lessons Learned

Identifying CEV

• Identifying domestic violence in families is important to Child Protective Services (CPS)

62% of Bridgeport's CPS workers and supervisors attended three full day trainings

CPS piloted a new domestic violence screening tool to be used during the investigation of abuse and neglect

CPS investigators met with domestic violence providers to discuss identification and safety planning concerns

Lessons Learned

Identifying CEV

Referring CEV and their families

• Referrals to support CEV must include support to parents or caregivers

Stress levels of parents or caregivers must be reduced in order to respond to the needs of children

The needs of parents or caregivers must be considered when addressing the many risk factors associated with CEV

Lessons Learned

With intensive care coordination, families connect to 69% of the support service needed

Court advocates successful connected 40% of families with at least one support service

• Many programs referring families with CEV are connecting with needed services

Referring CEV and their families

Lessons Learned

Building capacity

Over 1,400 service providers attended a Safe Start workshop

82 workshops were held in Bridgeport

Feedback from workshops attendees was positive

Requests for in-service workshops for Bridgeport agencies have increased over the last 2 years

• Service providers value workshops on issues relating to young children and violence

Lessons Learned

Service provider awareness and ability to identify CEV has increased

Providers indicated that workshops have supported their ability to meet and create a working network with new providers as a result of attending

Many providers working directly with CEV are attending workshops

• Workshops have had a positive impact on the community

Building capacity

Lessons Learned

Over 40 clinical service providers attended a 2 day training on the impact of violence on young children

4 mental health clinicians participated in a year-long clinical consultation program designed to build their capacity to work with CEV and their families

Mental health providers are asking for more in depth training on working with CEV and their families

• Service providers are asking for higher levels of training on CEV issues

Building capacity

Lessons Learned

73% of families assessed for domestic violence included an interview with the suspected perpetrator

50% of the investigations included the batterer in the treatment plan

Safety planning has improved

CPS workers report an increased understanding of the the impact of violence exposure on young children

• Training Child Protective Service (CPS) workers on family violence issues and the impact on children has had a positive effect on service planning

Building capacity

Lessons Learned

Standardized procedures and tools are being implemented across a number of program services

Decisions are increasingly data driven

Accountability is less burdensome on service providers

The efficacy of program services are being proven

• Service providers have learned to support meaningful and measurable outcomes

Building capacity

Lessons Learned

Initiative challenges

• Programs must have time and resources to learn and develop capacity before beginning implementation

• Inconsistent leadership across community services to address children and family issues

• Many providers across service systems are challenged by how to successfully engage a child and family

• Sustaining the discussion and learning around improving services to children and families must take place among a broad group of providers

Lessons Learned

• Continue to support the identification and referral of CEV and their families in the courts, Child FIRST, CPS, and early care education classrooms

• Support efforts to evaluate the efficacy of a 14 question screening tool for CEV to be used by a wide range of providers

• Continue training providers on how to recognize children impacted by violence in the home

Identifying CEV

Next Steps

• Implement and measure the impact of the public awareness campaign

• Encourage providers to network and learn about available resources

• Assess the challenges and successes providers face with engaging families with needed services

Next Steps

Referring CEV and their families

• Continue supporting classroom consultation for early care educators

• Continue providing workshops to enhance providers ability to work with CEV and their families

• Evaluate the impact of the Child FIRST program has on CEV and families

• Begin to assess the commitment and develop a plan to sustain ongoing improvement for children and family issues

Building capacity

Next Steps

• Do you have any feedback on some the next steps to support continued identification, referral and capacity building?

Discussion and Feedback

Developing framework for 2005 activities and beyond

• What are the best ways that providers in our community can share what they have learned or make recommendations?

How can providers be held accountable to learn?

Discussion and Feedback

Developing framework for 2005 activities and beyond

• How could an assessment examining effective strategies to engage children and families be most helpful to you?

What questions would it answer?

Discussion and Feedback

Developing framework for 2005 activities and beyond

• How can our community sustain a meaningful dialogue across service groups to address and set priorities on children and family issues?

Have there been other examples of sustainability successes?

Is there commitment?

Discussion and Feedback

Developing framework for 2005 activities and beyond

Bridgeport Safe Start InitiativeUpdate Meeting

Thank you